Grassroots movement needed to get tough on crime
WHAT’S IT going to take to get Albuquerqueians to say “enough is enough” and start holding elected and appointed officials responsible for our runaway crime in our city?
The people of Albuquerque need to start a grassroots movement demanding an action plan by our elected and appointed officials of how to greatly reduce crime. I am mainly targeting our governor, state Legislature, Albuquerque mayor, Albuquerque chief of police, N.M. attorney general, city councilors and county commissioners.
N.M. ranks 8th in the nation of having 1,006 violent crimes per 100,000 people in 2020. People do not feel safe in Albuquerque, many businesses have left because the criminals have control of our city.
The Albuquerque Police Department has only 876 sworn officers, the city management thinks we should have 1,200 officers, but retired police officers think we should have 1,600 officers. No doubt APD is very understaffed and this is obvious whenever you drive around the city and seldom see APD out patrolling, much less pulling people over while you see unsafe traffic violations everywhere.
Time to get tough with criminals. Have special operations to crack down and target gangs and drugs and get them off the street. Clean up the thousands of backlog warrants and get the felons in prison. Stop the revolving door justice system, get rid of the Arnold Tool and hold criminals in jail until their trial. Beef up the prosecutor’s office so criminal cases can be tried more timely and increase convictions.
The state Legislature needs to do their job and serve their constituents by passing laws that improve public safety and not allow trial lawyers to run the state Legislature. Liberal judges that release criminals and do not hold them in jail and they commit another crime, these judges’ names should be made public and voters can vote them out.
Only can the voters voice their displeasure at the voting booth, but everyone can start writing their elected officials and demand they do their jobs and address crime now.
DAVID NEALE Albuquerque